Prosecutor in gang-rape case stood down

QUEENSLAND Crown prosecutor Steve Carter was stood down after court transcripts revealed he had described the males who gang-raped a 10-year-old girl in a remote Aboriginal community as "naughty" and not deserving of a jail sentence.

Mr Carter told Queensland District Court judge Sarah Bradley, well-known in Aboriginal communities for her efforts to keep people out of jail, that the rape in the Cape York community of Aurukun was "a form of childish experimentation" and the victim a willing participant.

Judge Bradley's decision not to impose jail terms will be appealed by Attorney-General Kerry Shine, while the Queensland Government will review other sexual abuse cases and work with the federal Government on possible child-protection reforms.

Mr Shine confirmed that the Director of Public Prosecutions, Leanne Clare SC, had informed him Mr Carter had been stood down pending an investigation into his handling of the case.

Transcripts of the sentencing on October 24 reveal that Mr Carter described the gang rape, in which the girl contracted a sexually transmitted disease, as "consensual sex", saying: "To the extent I can't say it was consensual in the legal sense, but in the general sense, the non-legal sense, yes, it was."

Mr Carter suggested a non-custodial sentence for all the accused, including the three aged 17, 18 and 26.

In his brief submission on sentencing to Judge Bradley, Mr Carter said the Crown would not be asking any more than "for some form of supervisory order, form of probation, or some similar order to that".

He added that there was no victim impact material that could be considered by the court.

"My submission in relation to this particular offence (rape) is the same that I make in relation to children of that age - of similar or the same age - is to quote, well, they're very naughty for doing what they're doing but it's really, in this case, it was a form of childish experimentation rather than one child being prevailed upon by another," Mr Carter told the court.

"Although she was very young, she knew what was going on and she had agreed to meet the children at this particular place and it was all by arrangement, so for that purpose."

Later in the proceedings Mr Carter said he had been given instructions in relation to the sentencing and that none of the penalties he had been instructed to seek involved a custodial penalty, and he specifically asked that if the adults were sentenced to prison that the terms be fully suspended.

Ms Clare has said she was unaware of the submissions.

In relation to the six accused aged under 17, Mr Carter said they should receive "some form of supervised orders that involves possibly a little bit of education or counselling".

"That's all I am seeking - some sort of supervisory order in the vicinity of no less than 12 months for each of them."

Mr Carter then said that females deserved the same protection under the law in an Aboriginal community as they did elsewhere "but sometimes things happen in a small community when children get together and people that are just past their childhood - and these sort of things are what weare dealing with today".

Mr Carter and Judge Bradley have refused to comment on their handling of the case.

The girl, now 12, has repeatedly been victimised and sexually abused, and was wrongly sent back to Aurukun before the gang rape.